Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it made any submissions to the recent European Union consultation on public service obligation routes for airlines and, if so, whether it will publish its submissions and, if it made no submission, what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive continues to make its views known to the UK Government and the European Commission on the need for measures to protect access to the main London hubs. These measures should not require peripheral areas of the UK to pay a premium for access and should take into account the current level of service provision and the availability of other transport options.

Alcohol Misuse

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is projected to spend to tackle alcohol abuse in each of the next three years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive is making specific funding of £3 million in 2004-05 and £5 million in 2005-06 available through NHS boards to support the implementation of local alcohol action plans.

  The board-by-board allocation is as follows:

  

 Area
 Funding 
  (£000s)


 2004-05
 2005-06


 Argyll and Clyde
 277
 462


 Ayrshire and Arran
 213
 355


 Borders
 85
 141


 Dumfries and Galloway
 108
 180


 Fife
 199
 332


 Forth Valley
 148
 247


 Grampian
 212
 354


 Greater Glasgow
 667
 1,111


 Highland
 140
 234


 Lanarkshire
 246
 409


 Lothian
 336
 560


 Orkney
 67
 111


 Tayside
 168
 280


 Shetland
 67
 111


 Western Isles
 67
 111


 Total
 3 million
 5 million



  This specific allocation is in addition to the existing resources to tackle alcohol problems currently provided in NHS board and local authority general allocations. Funding for 2006-07 will be considered as part of the forthcoming spending review.

  £2,648 million is also being made available through central budgets in 2004-05 to support local and national action to tackle alcohol problems. This includes funding for a national communications campaign and national information resource, support for local Alcohol Action Teams and core grant for Alcohol Focus Scotland.

Apprenticeships

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7855 by Mr Jim Wallace on 11 May 2004, why it does not set targets for those they expect to be in full-time employment upon completion of their modern apprenticeship scheme and, in the absence of such targets, how it measures the success of the scheme.

Lewis Macdonald: We have set targets for the number of modern apprentices in training and we are currently working with the enterprise networks to set targets for completion of the MA programme.

Child Care

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit of its national review of the early years and child care workforce will be.

Peter Peacock: I am today announcing a significant programme of reform and development for the workforce. The Review of the Early Years and Childcare Workforce will:

  examine and define the role and responsibilities of staff in the early years, child care and play workforce;

  determine an approach to national workforce planning;

  rationalise and modernise early years/child care qualifications, ensuring that they are appropriate for the different sectors of the workforce;

  develop vertical and lateral career pathways which provide for progression within a chosen area and lateral movement between different sectors of the workforce, and

  consider the implications of these considerations for pay and conditions.

  Although the review will comment on pay and conditions, these remain matters for employers.

  The review’s recommendations will have to take into account current levels of resources and planned spending following the outcome of this years spending review. The review should also reflect the interests of the different sectors which provide childcare and early years services, including the private, voluntary and social economy sector and self-employed individuals.

  A steering group involving key stakeholders, to be chaired by a senior Scottish Executive official, will be set up. It will include:

  COSLA

  UNISON

  Local authority early years manager

  Local authority practitioner

  Private sector provider

  Voluntary sector provider

  Voluntary sector overview

  Social economy sector provider

  Parents’ representative

  SQA

  Scottish Social Services Council

  Further and higher education training providers

  Scottish Executive officials

  A wider range of interests will be involved through working groups which will develop detailed proposals for the steering group.

  I anticipate that the initial work of the group will last 12 months.

Communication Impairment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) a diagnosed communication impairment, (b) aphasia, (c) a specific language impairment and (d) a pervasive communication disorder in each NHS board area.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.

Communication Impairment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure that people with a communication impairment benefit from the rights conferred by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in relation to access to public services.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is reserved to Westminster and the UK Government is working with the Disability Rights Commission to promote awareness of the legislation throughout Great Britain. It is the responsibility of service providers to ensure that they meet the requirements of the act.

  Under the Human Rights Act 1998, all public authorities are bound to comply with the terms of the ECHR as a matter of domestic law.

Communication Impairment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many speech and language therapists work in services dedicated to (a) mental health and (b) young offenders.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. I look to NHS boards to determine the need for local therapy services and to provide the services required.

Concessionary Travel

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7076 by Nicol Stephen on 2 April 2004, when the consultation paper on concessionary travel, due to be published in April, will be published.

Nicol Stephen: The consultation paper on concessionary travel will be issued soon.

Disclosure Scotland

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the backlog is of applications to Disclosure Scotland for background checks.

Cathy Jamieson: On the basis of current volumes and turnaround times, Disclosure Scotland would expect to have around 25,000 applications as current work in hand at any point in time. At 16 May, approximately 24,000 applications were being processed. In addition to that number, there were approximately 21,500 applications where staff were pursuing the correction of errors in the application form, clearance of payment arrangements or enquiries to police forces for any relevant non-conviction information. Additional staff are being assigned to complete the processing of the outstanding applications more quickly.

Disclosure Scotland

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for people to receive clearance from Disclosure Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: At 16 May, average processing times at Disclosure Scotland for all three levels of Disclosures was 12 days. In both cases this applies to applications which did not require the correction of errors in the application form, clearance of payment arrangements or enquiries to police forces for any relevant non-conviction information.

Disclosure Scotland

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average turnaround time is for applications to Disclosure Scotland for background checks; what the extent of any backlog is and when it is anticipated that such backlog will be cleared, and whether it will seek to standardise practices between local authorities regarding the employment of people prior to clearance being given.

Cathy Jamieson: At 16 May, the average processing time for applications for all three levels of Disclosures was 12 days. This applies to applications which do not require the correction of errors in the application form, clearance of payment arrangements or enquires to police forces for any relevant non-conviction information.

  Also at 16 May, approximately 24,000 applications were being processed by Disclosure Scotland. In addition, there were approximately 21,500 applications where staff were pursuing the correction of errors in the application form, clearance of payment and enquiries to police forces for any relevant non-conviction information. Disclosure Scotland has assigned additional staff to complete the processing of these outstanding applications.

  Local authorities and other employers are best placed to make decisions about the appointment of individuals to posts which involve working with children and vulnerable adults. Appointments to such positions need to be considered very carefully and a range of pre-employment checks, including a criminal record check, should be carried out.

  Where, in exceptional circumstances, an employer feels it is essential to appoint an individual to such a post pending receipt of a disclosure from Disclosure Scotland, but after all other pre-appointment checks are completed, the employer should consider appointing the individual on a temporary contract and ensure that the person concerned does not work unsupervised when dealing with children or vulnerable adults.

Economy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how the percentage of gross domestic product generated from private sector business compares to that in (a) England and (b) the UK as a whole.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish GDP estimates are compiled using an industry breakdown and it is not therefore possible to provide a sectoral split of GDP. The table below provides some alternative information on the sectoral split of businesses and organisations in Scotland and the UK. Comparable information is not available for England.

  

 Legal Status
 Number 
  of Enterprises
 Total 
  Scottish Employment
 Turnover 

(£ Millions)


 Companies (incl. 
  Building Societies)
 51,170
 1,198,310
 130,701


 Sole proprietors 
  
 56,320
 166,040
 8,158


 Partnerships
 35,480
 204,890
 10,775


 Public Corporation/ 
  nationalised body
 40
 136,440
 5,758


 Central and local 
  government
 170
 407,400
 6,772


 Non-profit making 
  bodies and mutual associations
 6,545
 123,620
 2,676


 Total registered
 149,730
 2,236,700
 164,839


 Unregistered enterprises
 102,525
 120,480
 3,557


 Total
 252,255
 2,357,190
 168,396



  Source: Scottish Executive, Corporate Sector Statistics 2002.

  Notes:

  1. Registered enterprises are those registered for VAT and/or PAYE.

  2. Turnover data for financial intermediation enterprises are not available. Totals exclude turnover of such enterprises.

Economy

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7796 by Mr Jim Wallace on 11 May 2004, what the growth in Scotland's GDP would have been if it had been measured in market prices.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish GDP index is measured in basic prices (also known as Gross Value Added) and is not available in market prices. The main difference between these two measures is the inclusion (in the market prices measure) of taxes and subsidies on products. Due to the difficulty in apportioning taxes and subsidies below national level, growth of GDP in market prices is not currently available.

Equal Opportunities

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5676 by Mr Andy Kerr on 28 January 2004, at what stage the review of its Diversity Strategy is and, if the review is complete, what its findings were.

Mr Andy Kerr: The review of the Executive’s Diversity Strategy Positive about You  has now been completed. It confirms that much of its five year programme of work has been achieved and that, generally, good progress has been made towards the targets set for under-represented groups. However, we recognise that further progress can still be made, and a new Diversity Strategy is currently under consideration.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cycles of IVF and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection treatment were provided by each NHS board in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Table 1 below shows the amount of complete treatment cycles (diagnosis through to embryo transfer) that NHS boards currently fund per year (data submitted to Scottish Executive Health Department April 2004).

  

 NHS Board
 No. of IVF Cycles 
  Provided Per Year (Approx)
 No. of ICSI 
  Cycles Provided Per Year (Approx)


 Ayrshire and Arran
 70
 43


 Argyll and Clyde
 60
 41


 Borders
 3
 3


 Dumfries and Galloway
 33 (combined 
  IVF / ICSI)
 33 (combined 
  IVF / ICSI)


 Fife
 36
 20


 Forth Valley
 45
 28


 Grampian
 26
 23


 Greater Glasgow
 132
 114


 Highland
 38
 20


 Lanarkshire
 *
 *


 Lothian
 135 (combined 
  IVF / ICSI)
 135 (combined 
  IVF / ICSI)


 Orkney
 4 (combined IVF 
  / ICSI)
 4 (combined IVF 
  / ICSI)


 Shetland
 18
 6


 Tayside
 45
 25


 Western Isles
 *
 *



  Note:

  *Data not currently available.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland’s guidelines on infertility services.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Programme for Clinical Effectiveness in Reproductive Health (SPCERH), commissioned by the Chief Medical Officer, held a consensus conference in 2003 to reconsider the eligibility criteria for access to NHS funded infertility treatment. The Executive are currently reviewing the feedback from the conference and are also reviewing the current level of service provision across NHS Scotland. If after the completion of these reviews, expected later in 2004, there was a recommendation to change the criteria then this would be subject to a full public consultation exercise.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards offer the full range of infertility services, including tertiary infertility services.

Malcolm Chisholm: The table below details the assisted conception techniques that are funded by each NHS board at April 2004.

  Each of these techniques are provided by one of Scotland’s four tertiary referral centres based in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

  

 NHS Board
 DI
 ICSI
 IVF


 Ayrshire and Arran
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Argyll and Clyde
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Borders
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Dumfries and Galloway
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Fife
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Forth Valley
 N
 Y
 Y


 Grampian
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Greater Glasgow
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Highland
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Lanarkshire
 *
 *
 *


 Lothian
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Orkney
 Y**
 Y
 Y


 Shetland
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Tayside
 Y
 Y
 Y


 Western Isles
 Y
 Y 
 Y



  Notes:

  DI- Donor Insemination

  ICSI- Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection

  IVF- In-vitro Fertilisation

  *Data not currently available.

  **This technique has never been requested in Orkney, but would be met out of the infertility budget if needed.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was from the point of diagnosis to the beginning of the first cycle of IVF or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection treatment in each NHS board in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all couples retain their place on the waiting list for infertility treatment for a second cycle of treatment, following an unsuccessful first cycle of treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) was published in February 2000. The report provides a robust evidence base for the management and delivery of infertility services and it will provide equity of access to services and treatment. NHS boards have been asked to work towards the implementation of the recommendations from the report as existing resources allow and bearing in mind local and national priorities.

  The expert group recommended that once accepted onto an assisted conception programme, couples should be permitted to undergo successive cycles within a time frame of their own choosing. They should not return to the end of a waiting list following an unsuccessful cycle.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how patients are assessed for the most appropriate and effective infertility treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: As recommended by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland, the initial investigation and management of infertility, provided by the primary care team, should be couple-based, covering basic history-taking and clinical examination. This stage should also include laboratory investigations to evaluate the woman’s general health status, to confirm ovulation and to assess the quality of the semen of the man.

  The couple should then be referred, if necessary, for further investigation and management provided by a special infertility team in a district general hospital. And then, as clinically appropriate, be referred onto one of the four tertiary referral centres in Scotland for assisted conception techniques.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the eligibility criteria are for infertility treatment and whether these criteria apply in all NHS boards.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether women under the age of 40 will receive one free IVF treatment cycle where necessary.

Malcolm Chisholm: The report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS). Evidence and Equity , was published in February 2000. The report provides a robust evidence base for the management and delivery of infertility services and it will provide equity of access to services and treatment. All NHS boards have been asked to work towards the implementation of the recommendations of the report, as existing resources allow, bearing in mind local and national priorities.

  One of the principle outcomes of EAGISS was to produce eligibility criteria for accessing NHS funded assisted conception. These criteria are:

  Infertility with an appropriate diagnosed cause of any duration or unexplained infertility of at least three years duration.

  Female partner aged less than 38 years at the time of treatment.

  Neither partner previously sterilised.

  Less than three previous embryo transfers funded from any source.

  No child living with the couple in their home.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage success rate is of infertility treatments in all treatment centres, after (a) one, (b) two and (c) three treatments.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. I refer the member to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for this information.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to diagnose endometriosis at the earliest possible stage to reduce the risk of infertility problems at a later date.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology guidelines on endometriosis have been brought to the attention of health professionals through the Royal College's clinical networks in gynaecology, general practice and other health professions. Advice in the guidelines is also included in postgraduate training in gynaecology and for general practice.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what psychological and counselling support is offered to couples before, during and after infertility treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: The report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (2000) recommends that couples receiving management in Level II infertility centres (specialist infertility teams in district general hospitals) should have access to appropriate, independent counselling for couples undergoing infertility treatment.

  The services provided within the dedicated infertility clinics of Level II centres should include a staff member appropriately trained to provide formal, independent counselling.

  It is also mandatory that couples undergoing assisted conception treatments regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, as provided in the four Scottish infertility tertiary referral centres, are offered appropriate, independent counselling.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the evidence-based clinical guideline, Fertility assessment and treatment for people with fertility problems, developed by the National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, will be implemented.

Malcolm Chisholm: The National Institute for Clinical Evidence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on treatments and care for people using the NHS in England and Wales.

  The report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) was published in February 2000. This report provides a robust evidence base for the management and delivery of infertility services in Scotland and it will provide equity of access to services and treatment.

  The Executive are currently reviewing the eligibility criteria for access to NHS funded infertility treatment, expected to be completed later in 2004, and as part of that review will look at the NICE guidelines.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection is now available to assist fertility treatments and, if so, how many women have benefited from this treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: All four Scottish tertiary referral centres, in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow provide Intra-cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) as well as standard IVF treatments.

  The number of ICSI treatments performed is not held centrally.

Fertility Treatment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to undertake an audit of NHS boards’ progress towards implementing the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland’s guideline and MEL (2000) 6 Expert Advisory Group Report On Infertility Services and when the results of any such audit will be published.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive is currently reviewing the level of service provision of NHS funded infertility treatment across NHS Scotland against the expert groups recommendations. I anticipate this review being completed later in 2004.

Gaelic

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make provision for increasing the budget of the Gaelic Media Service in order to restore the budget to the purchasing power equivalent of the budget first set for Comataidh Telebhisein Gàidhlig on its establishment.

  The member has provided the following Gaelic translation:

  A dh’ fhaighneachd de Riaghaltas na h-Alba dè na h-ullachaidhean a bhios e a’ dèanamh gus buidseit Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig a leudachadh gus am bi an coimeas-ceannaich aice aig an aon ìre is a bha aig Comataidh Telebhisein Gàidhlig nuair a chaidh a stèidheachadh.

Mr Frank McAveety: All bids for budget increases are being considered within the wider context of the Scottish Executive’s current spending review.

  The Scottish Executive has provided the following Gaelic translation:

  Thathar a' beachdachadh air buidseatan ri teachd bho gach obair sa chùram-roinne agamsa taobh a-staigh suidheachadh nas fharsainge tro sgrùdadh air cosg làithreach Riaghaltais na h-Alba.

Justice

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7167 by Cathy Jamieson on 22 April 2004, whether it will give a breakdown of the 5,627 outstanding warrants into those for (a) murder, (b) rape or serious sexual assault, (c) assault to severe injury, (d) other indictable offences and (e) summary criminal matters.

Cathy Jamieson: The answer given to question S2W-7167 on 22 April 2004, gave a figure of 5,327 outstanding apprehension warrants in relation to Strathclyde Police as at 14 April 2004. At end-May 2004, Strathclyde Police   held the following number of warrants in relation to serious crime investigations:

  

 Murder 
 12


 Attempted murder 
  2


 Culpable homicide 
  1


 Serious assault
 60 


 Rape
  5


 Gross indecency (including 
  indecent assault)
 18



  Notes:

  1. Other outstanding apprehension warrants relate, for example, to failure to appear in court, common assault and fraud. A detailed breakdown of such warrants would require an examination of each warrant and would only be available at disproportionate cost. In 2003-04, procurators fiscal passed 52,338 warrants to the police.

  2. The police must execute all warrants without undue delay. Following a protocol agreed between Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, forces prioritise the handling of the most serious warrants first. However, in some cases, because the individuals against whom the warrants are issued go to ground (including abroad), the police are not always able to execute a warrant quickly.

  3. The number of warrants outstanding is greater than the number of individuals involved because some people have multiple warrants issued against them.

Justice

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7822 by Cathy Jamieson on 11 May 2004, how it arrived at the assumption that legal aid costs associated with any newly-formed UK Supreme Court would not be greater than the legal aid costs that would have arisen in the House of Lords and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Cathy Jamieson: As indicated in the answer given to question S2W-7822 answered on 11 May 2004, the new Supreme Court will have the same jurisdiction in relation to Scotland as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. Consequently, we do not anticipate an increase in the number of legal aid cases each year.

Local Government Finance

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much grant funding was allocated to Inverclyde Council in 2003-04, broken down by purpose.

Mr Andy Kerr: Inverclyde was allocated £88.706 million of Revenue Support Grant (RSG) in 2003-04. RSG is an unhypothecated grant and so is not broken down into grants for each service.

Maternity Services

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and which, maternity units are currently operating under the appropriate staffing establishments.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive Health Department has endorsed, in principle, the recommendations made in the Nursing and Midwifery Workload & Workforce Planning Project . Action on these recommendations is being taken forward both at NHS board and national level to timescales defined within the report.

  Currently, there is no nationally-recognised appropriate staffing establishment for maternity units in NHSScotland. Rather, it is the responsibility of individual NHS boards to meet the needs of their local population and to ensure safe delivery of clinical services, taking account of the staffing establishment.

  At a national level, the recently-established National Maternity Services Workforce Planning Group will be considering different models of care within maternity services and the associated implications for training and competency.

NHS Waiting Lists

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the mean average figures for each category in NHSScotland Acute Activity, Waiting Times and Waiting Lists - Quarter ending 31st December 2003.

Malcolm Chisholm: As already stated in response given to question S2W-5778 on 10 February 2004, ISD Scotland has no plans to publish arithmetic mean values for each category in NHSScotland Acute Activity, waiting times and waiting lists. Waiting times follow a highly positive skewed distribution and, consequently, the median is the most appropriate measure of central tendency in these datasets.

National Health Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7829 by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 May 2004, whether it has evidence that PFI/PPP has had no impact on the capital costs of the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: No. There is no evidence to say whether PFI/PPP has had no impact on the capital costs of the NHS. Before PFI/PPP is used a full economic appraisal is conducted which compares PPP/PFI with a traditionally procured option to assess which approach provides better value for money. I would further refer the member to the answer give to S2W-7829 answered 12 May 2004 which advises that PFI/PPP contributes to capital investment in NHSScotland and is an additional source of funding. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Parking Charges

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7205 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 April 2004, how much surplus has been generated by car parking charges at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and whether Consort, the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian receive equal shares of this surplus.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are two agreements concerning any surplus income (net of running and funding costs) generated from the car parking spaces at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh. The agreement concerning the original car parking spaces stated that NHS Lothian would receive 50% of any surplus income and 50% would be retained by Consort. When the City of Edinburgh Council approved an increase in the number of spaces, it was agreed that NHS Lothian would receive 25% of any surplus income for the additional car parking spaces, the City of Edinburgh Council 50% (for the continuing implementation of its Green Policy) and the remaining 25% of any surplus income to be retained by Consort.

  Consort are required to forward audited income and expenditure accounts to NHS Lothian three months after the year-end. For the first year of operation 2003-04, accounts are not yet available.

Parliamentary Questions

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, of the 337 parliamentary questions that have been answered to date where the question addressed a health issue and the answer stated that the information requested was not held centrally, in how many cases the information is now available centrally.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, regarding the 2930 parliamentary questions to date that received the answer that the information requested was not held centrally, in how many cases the information requested is now available and what measures are being put in place to hold information sought by MSPs centrally.

Patricia Ferguson: When replying to parliamentary questions, the Executive strives to provide the member with as much information as is available at the time. On some occasions the information sought will not be held centrally and this will be reflected in the answer.

  It would be an extensive task to review each of these questions to assess if the information requested then is now available. In cases where information is not available centrally but is available elsewhere, we advise where it can be obtained or we direct to published sources.

People with Dementia

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is intended that all categories of dementia sufferers will be included in the Blue Badge scheme following the current review.

Nicol Stephen: We are unable to say whether all categories of dementia sufferers will or will not be included in the Blue Badge Scheme until after the research by the Department for Transport is completed. The research will look at the mobility needs for these groups and will be carried out on a UK-wide basis.

Prison Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) available and (b) additional prison places there are at HM Prison Kilmarnock.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  (a) 500

  (b) 96.

Rail Network

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what capital contribution it, or any public authority, has made to the provision of the railway station at Glasgow Prestwick International Airport.

Nicol Stephen: The station opened in 1994 at a cost of around £2.2 million. The Scottish Executive did not contribute but the station’s public authority funders included Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive, Ayrshire Enterprise, and Kyle and Carrick Council. Details of individual contributions are not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the argument in Professor David Simpson's report for the David Hume Institute, Tilting at Windmills: The Economics of Wind Power , that wind power generation is more expensive than nuclear generation.

Lewis Macdonald: The report recognises that capital costs account for a significant proportion of the cost of generating wind power, at between 75%- 90% of the total costs. Such costs are predicted to fall significantly as the global wind energy market expands.

  The full cost of nuclear power, including decommissioning costs, has not been included in the report.

Roads

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what sums were awarded as compensation to motorists and other road users as a result of potholes and other defects on trunk roads, in each year since 1999.

Nicol Stephen: The amount awarded as compensation to motorists and other road users as a result of defects on the trunk road network is as follows:

  

 Year
 Compensation 
  Paid
(£000)


 1999-2000
 939


 2000-01
 104


 2001-02
 763


 2002-03
 321



  The final out-turn compensation figure for 2003-04 is not yet available.

Student Finance

Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the contractual annulment of liability period under the student loan scheme has been altered from that originally agreed to by the signatories in any year since the scheme has been in operation and, if so, when such an alteration was made, what the reason was for the alteration, under what authority the alteration was made and which minister authorised the alteration in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: There have never been any changes to the criteria for cancellation of a borrower’s liability to repay a student loan under either the mortgage style or income contingent loan schemes. I would refer the member to S2W-8050 answered on 24 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Student Finance

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-7886 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 May 2004, what the average level of debt held after leaving university by former students was in each year since 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: The average student loan debt for Scottish domiciled borrowers starting repayment in each year from 1999 onwards is shown in the following table:

  

 Year
 Average Loan 
  Debt


 1999
 £2,863


 2000
 £3,174


 2001
 £3,876


 2002
 £4,294


 2003
 £4,924



  This data is from the Student Loans Company (SLC) and is for borrowers entering repayment in April of each year.

  Between 1994-95 and 1997-98 students were supported through a combination of grant and student loan. The level of loan support was increased over that period to make up 50% of the total support available. In 1998-99 this system of support was replaced by income contingent repayment student loans. Given these changes to the student support arrangements it is inappropriate to compare each of the figures in the table on a like-for-like basis.